Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia at the Roundtable Discussion on Responsibility to Protect: Deepening our commitment to mass atrocity prevention

01.10.2012

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Firstly, I would like to thank you inviting Estonia to
this meeting of R2P friends.

Responsibility to Protect is undoubtedly an
increasingly important concept in international relations and security. Estonia
is a firm supporter of the R2P principle to protect people from ethnic
cleansing, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, adopted in 2005, and
would like to contribute to its further elaboration , and we look
forward to work closer with you.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today the content of R2P is not debated. The
revolutionary or transitional developments of the past couple of
years have raised awareness of the R2P concept. The difficulty, however,
lies with its application: when governments do not live up to their ultimate
responsibility to protect its population from the atrocities defined as the R2P
crimes, the international community must take the responsibility to react, and
act.

However the keywords for understanding the concept are
prevention and accountability, the human rights and fundamental freedoms,
including the rights of women and the child. We must explain it more and better
as very often the concept has been misleadingly seen as being related to a
military intervention only.

R2P
also means making the most of new technologies in the service of fundamental
rights and freedoms. Today, new media make it impossible to hide war crimes
both on and off the battlefield. Modern technology brings home the reality and
horror of war. Therefore, we must recognize the
important role of the technology in advancing human rights. World-wide
communication and growing interconnectedness means that every
situation that could possibly lead to the worst crimes against civilian
population will be known. A strong civil society and media, equipped with
modern technological solutions, makes it impossible to argue for inaction.

Dear friends of R2P,

Accountability
is one of those tools without which R2P cannot be enforced. Functioning legal
system and law enforcement would not only put an end to the impunity but also
serve as a deterrent. In this context I would also highlight the importance of transitional
justice mechanisms. In more complicated cases the
international criminal justice system, especially the International Criminal
Court, plays a crucial role in providing timely and decisive responses to such
crimes. Possible and pending investigations by the Court may deter further
atrocities, prevent their escalation or accelerate their end. Therefore it is
essential to cooperate with the Court and apprehend those it has indicted.

Recently we have witnessed
the complete breakdown of any semblance of the rule of law in Syria. We
continue to see extensive human rights and international humanitarian law
abuses. It appears that both sides have committed serious international crimes.
Yet we still see no solution. We cannot look on and wait for the violence to
spread even more widely. The Security Council – especially its permanent
members – must overcome their differences and find a solution to this
bloodshed. There has to be as well an ICC involvement.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Experience
shows that if we fail to act responsibly, we will, in the end, be forced to do
so. There is the need to take responsibility, and to do more. The Human Rights Council is an
important organ with essential functions to respond and draw attention to
emergencies that might give rise to R2P crimes. Estonia
looks forward to becoming a member of the Human Rights Council and to working
proactively towards the fulfillment of its mandate from 2013 onwards.

To
conclude, Estonia would like to become a member of
R2P Group of Friends here in New York to be engage even more actively in the
future.

Ladies
and gentlemen, let us put some effort into making the world a better
place. Because we know that inaction is not an option.